Disclaimer:I do not own Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, or any of the other wonderful original characters from the Anime/Manga series. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi, and remain as amazing as ever. I do, however; own this fic, so if you like any of my ideas and want to use them, please give me credit. Thanks.
This story is for entertainment only. I am not earning any money from this and I wouldn't want to.
Summary: Okay, in this chapter, someone finally gets some action, but you have to read on to find out who. I have tried to keep this tasteful and romantic, so don't expect anything hardcore or graphic ( That comes later-- Just kidding!) There really should not be anything in this chapter above a T rating, but be warned anyway.
Chapter Four: A Destiny Fulfilled
They had arrived silently, coming out of the woods with the lithe, faintly predatory stalk even friendly cats displayed. They were there when they had returned to the palace, waiting outside the barrier, and Jakan had leaped onto the Dragon-Horse's back in apprehension and fear to see them move in to surround them like that. But this Lord had no fear of them. They were not here to threaten them; they were here for her and it confirmed what he had already suspected. They were still here now, though most of the pride was scattered about the grounds, prepared to come at a moment's call were trouble to occur. Only the Alpha and his mate remained, sitting outside her chamber, like Foo-Lions, guarding their princess.
He sat in his chambers, which abutted hers, and studied his regenerated arm. What he had told his thick-witted brother was true. Daiyoukai did regenerate severed limbs, but not so quickly, especially not if they were severed with the bones of other demons. It was likely why the Human Tajiya that Lady Kirara had travelled with while cursed, carried a weapon of Youkai bones; it made it more effective against the powerful foe that she fought. No, the Lord had expected to wait at least a year before his missing arm was returned to him, and yet he had endured the almost cripplingly painful regrowth in the space of three hours, directly before he had caught the scent of the re-appeared Neko princess.
There were only limited times in any Youkai's life that such rapid healing was even possible and he had passed the latest of those inconveniant times over 16 years ago. But the evidence was undeniable, as was the desire that had torn through him from the moment that he had set eyes on her. It had been almost as crippling as the pain from the forced regeneration, and all his restraint had been needed to hold back from crushing her slim form to his body and smothering her soft lips with his own. What is happening to me? I have never been so unbridled with my passions.
But even as he asked that question in his furiously spinning mind, he knew that it was idiotic. He was a prince, Lord of his Lands and master of all that he could hold, and it would be folly for such a Lord to deny what he knew was the truth. The scent of her drifted about him again, causing an instant reaction from his already fevered body. He had forced his desires deep down into the cold, controlled center of his soul, refusing to allow them mastery over his pristine mind, or his actions, but that did not mean that they disappeared. He had been struggling with their periodical and inconvenient re-emergence continually for almost two days now. He would not take advantage of any guest in his house without learning their own desires first. The great and powerful Lord Sesshomaru was not a user of anyone!
Then another tendril of her exotic scent drifted about his senses, and a sudden elation surged through him. The scent had changed; she was awake at last. There was no need to wait any longer. He rose gracefully to his feet, and headed rapidly towards his chamber door, resisting the urge to tear through the thin rice paper and bamboo that separated him from his goal. Outside her chamber the Two-tails, Silver and Gold in color, faced him with burning eyes of orange and blue. He looked back at them, unbowed. Even had he had any reason to fear them he would not have had the need. They were among the most sentient of all Demi-Youkai and they understood his purpose as clearly as if he had spoken it aloud. A brief, but intense exchange of gazes, which he did not turn away from, and then they nodded their large soft heads once and moved sinuously away from the door, disappearing silently down the wood-polished corridor towards the rest of the family quarters. Sesshomaru watched them go in silent respect, then slid open the door to her chamber and entered the room beyond.
As soon as he stepped into the beautiful, feminine room, her scent hit him, like a drug. It was sweet and sharp and exquisite and tasted like all the things he had ever craved and delighted in; all that he would ever need to finally fill every aching, empty corner of his being. He fought the urge to simply shut his eyes and breathe in that scent until he was overflowing with it's perfect essence, and chose instead to face the glorious woman who was currently rising from the quilts of the futon. He had provided her with the standard white sleeping kimono; his palace had plenty to spare, all of the finest linen and silk, but none had ever seemed to cling so enticingly to the beautiful curves that they demurely concealed. He also scented her innocence. There was no guile in her intoxicating scent. She was completely unaware of the incredible beauty and grace that she naturally possessed, though not entirely unaware of her effect on him. He also scented more and it almost brought a growl of desire rising out of his throat, unbidden. She wanted him, at least as badly as he wanted her! This connection between them, the essence of all demon survival and joy, was not lost on her. Is this why I have been so restless? Is this what my mind and body have been preparing for; my designated mate at last?
She did not speak. Perhaps it was because she had spent 4, almost 5 decades as a mute beast or perhaps she had, like him, no need for the affectations of often unnecessary speech. The feral and hungry glow in her glorious green eyes, the inviting parting of her coral lips, they were all the communication that he needed. Without taking his eyes off the silver angel before him, he moved to the side of the futon pausing only long enough to remove Tenseiga, still in it's sheath, and lay it on the floor near at hand. His mantle quickly followed before he knelt on the quilts facing her. He reached out his hand and gently lay it against one beautifully marked cheek. Every atom of his being screamed to seize her violently in his arms and take her with all the hunger that his powerful body felt, but once again he thrust those instincts down and away. He would not take her that way; not his mate, not his woman. If she was to be his for eternity, her first memory would not be of a cruel joining.
Her emerald eyes drew at his heart and loins like steel filaments to his very core, as she leaned her face into his gentle carress holding onto his long, calloused hand with both of her delicately slender ones. His heart ached. How had he been so long without this? How could he have gone even one year without his glorious Lady, let alone half a century? He let his fingers move to slide through the impossibly fine strands of her raven-streaked, silver hair and felt a shudder of desire pass through him like water. His fingers tightened ever so gently in the silken waterfall bringing a gasp of desire from her perfect lips, and he used the distraction to draw her to him, for a long, passionate kiss.
The moment their lips joined, he felt the powerful tremor of her answering desire ripple through her and she melted against him in unrestrained passion. Her previously coy demeanor vanished with the confirmation of their bond and her hands deftly relieved him of his obi conceding the revealing of the first flesh to her. Her hands glided over the flat hard muscles of his chest, running along the exquisitely sensitive skin just beneath his collarbone and bringing out the first gasp of desire from him. He let her explore him, relishing in the feel of her skilled hands sensuously moving over his naked, hungry flesh. She pushed his Haori off his shoulders baring his upper body completely and then pressed herself fully against him, wrapping her arms about his back and pulling him close. The delicious orange and apricot fragrance of her hair enveloped his senses as her head came to rest on his shoulder, and he felt and scented the faintest taste of crystal tears on his skin.
"Sesshomaru!" It was a single word, barely a breath of sound against his hair and ear, but all she felt and desired was in that breath and he wasted no time in answering her needs. With a single, practiced motion he divested her of the white robe and lowered her gently back to the quilts. Shielding them both with the screen of his own, long hair, he drew back to take in her now fully revealed beauty. It was probably the singularly most erotic sight that he had ever seen. Her pale, flawless skin was flushed with her excitement and the lovely markings on her face and arms glowed with their mounting arousel. Her beautiful breasts, firm and yet so soft called to him, the rosy nipples erect and waiting. He did not pause long before obliging them, and bending his head low in a graceful sweep, he took one of the tender peaks into his mouth, milking it softly. This time he elicited a cry of pleasure from her and it brought a low growl of passion welling up from his own throat. His hands caressed those perfect globes and soft skin, while his fervent kisses switched equally between both the sensitive tips. Her own hands did not remain idle for long, but caressed through his hair, over his shoulders and down his lean, muscular back. When they moved beneath his waist and brushed against the sweeping, hidden markings on his hips, another hiss of ecstasy escaped him.
It emboldened her, and reminded him sharply that he still had one barrier against ultimate bliss. Working together, with knowing hands, they quickly relieved him of his hakama trousers, without breaking the perfect contact of their hungry skin. Once freed, he immediately opened her creamy thighs with a gentle push of his knees and pressed his own heated root against the warm, hungry core of her womanhood. "Sesshomaru!" She cried out this time, and with another low growl he captured the sound of his name from her exquisite lips, with his own. This kiss was more heated, but no less tender and their bodies began to move together in sensual rhythm. Their hands devoured flesh and muscle, as tongues and teeth devoured lips and breath. Desire soared while whirling thought and long-concealed emotion blended into a maelstrom of both animal passion and soul-fulfilling realization. The two Daiyoukai, so long meant for each other and yet so long seperated by fate and cruelty, melted together in the ultimate confirmation of their joined destiny. And as the Lord of the Western Lands took his lady to his heart and body and they claimed that destiny at last, both understood that their lives had changed forever, and that as enduring and compelling as their often self-imposed isolation had been, this new path was not a road to be walked alone; not ever again.
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The dark haired Miko moved slowly along the empty road, her soul-collectors drifting in soft white wisps about her. She was following something; a call that she could not quite understand, and yet that compelled her like no other. At first she thought that it was Naraku and the call of the rapidly blackening jewel, but it felt different, very different. As she made her way through the cloud-wreathed moonlight, she sensed the energy of an approaching storm, but she did not fear it. She would find shelter well before it arrived. As she walked her solitary road, she felt her tiny piece of a soul, sigh within the cold emptiness of her ash and clay body, and felt the longing once again for life and warmth, and a heart that could truly feel, not just beat.
Ahead of her on the empty road, she suddenly saw a very peculiar sight. Two young girls, no more than five or six stood in the middle of the road, watching her. They were dressed in short, light kimonos of red and white and had long hair. One had two-toned hair of gold and orange, the other red and pale crimson. Both their eyes were luminous and jewel-toned, the golden-haired one's eyes were sapphire blue, the crimson-haired one's in emerald green. They had no pupils or irises; it was slightly unnerving. The Miko stopped, hand moving to her bow. She knew that these strange girls were Youkai and Youkai were a Miko's sworn enemies.
The two girls appeared unperturbed by the Priestess' threatening gesture and faced her calmly. "And will you kill us now, Miko?" the red-haired one demanded. "As you use the souls of young girls to keep yourself alive?"
The Priestess' dark eyes narrowed, but she made no further threatening moves. "Who are you?"
"We are what you make us, Miko." The golden-haired one replied. " Depending on your will and your heart, we can be your destruction or your rebirth."
"I have no heart!" The Miko retorted.
"Oh, but you do." The crimson-haired girl replied, "It is simply hidden. If you would trust us, we will help you rediscover it."
"And how, precisely am I going to do that?" The Priestess demanded. She wanted to sound cold and indifferent, but she could not help, but be slightly intrigued.
'"If you choose to trust us, take our hands now and come with us." The golden-haired girl spoke.
"If you chose to follow your instinct to destroy us, let fly your arrow and kill us." The crimson-haired girl added.
The Miko was stunned, but something inside her urged her on. "I will trust you." She replied. The two girls smiled and moved up to her. Each of them took one of the Priestess' hands and led her off the road and into the nearby forest.
After several hours of walking, they emerged by a deeply isolated and well-concealed hot spring. "Here is where the rebirth begins." The golden-haired child instructed.
"Remove all your clothing and step into the water." The crimson-haired girl continued.
Once again compelled by some strange instinct that she could not understand, the dark-haired Miko did as she was instructed. The hot water felt wonderful against her skin, despite the fact that her skin had ceased to feel any sensations, ever since she had been remade from the earth. The two girls moved to stand on either side of the hot spring and shut their eyes. This time they spoke together.
"By the power of fire, the Phoenix is consumed. Weak and tired, empty and sick; it calls up the last of it's power around it and perishes in a glorious conflagration of death!"
Suddenly the Miko realized that the water around her nude body was getting hotter and hotter. She gasped and tried to wade back out to the banks, but the water held her like ice frozen around her. But it wasn't ice, it was water and then fire and then suddenly it became a searing pool of deadly lava! The Priestess screamed in agony as the liquid bubbled up around her. She could feel herself melting, dissolving! The pain was incredible and yet she remained conscious the entire time that her body was dying. She screamed and screamed: Writhing, dying, blackening, charring! She felt like she had been thrown into the pits of Hell itself and still she felt it. Even as her body crumbled and melted into blackened, glowing ash once more, she still screamed , she still suffered; she still felt. Then somehow in her unbearable agony, she heard the girls' voices again.
"The ashes fall where once a sick, deformed body existed and yet the spark of life still burns. And out of the ashes of suffering and darkness, the glorious light rises again. The Phoenix is reborn, purified, healed and strengthened! You are the Phoenix now Kikyo, Priestess! Your hate-filled, yearning body is dead, your renewed body rises, filled with a new soul, a fresh soul; and though the spark of your human sister's soul still glows within your being, you are no longer Human. You are Daiyoukai; Kitsune DaiTsurayoukai, Phoenix-Blooded Fox Demon. Go forth, Betsushikima, protect your Human sister Kagome, the new guardian of the jewel; make up for your failures of the past and fulfill your soul-bound duty to Midoriko!"
Kikyo suddenly realized that the lava was cooling, that she had a body again, and that fire no longer seemed to hurt her. Then lava returned to fire and then hot water, and she was left gasping on the shore of the hot spring: whole, renewed and very much alive! She turned to look for the two mysterious girls, but they had disappeared leaving only her own reflection in the waters.
Her features had become sharper, finer, her ears slightly tapered, but her eyes and hair were still dark, exactly the shade of Kagome's own. "Like Inuyasha, and his brother, the Lord Sesshomaru!"She was clearly more attractive in this new body, but only due to its eldritch form, and then there were the markings. She softly traced the rose-colored, bell flower markings on her cheeks and on her forearms. A larger symbol in white revealed itself to enticingly mark the small of her back, with a smaller version on her forehead. It was a round circle in white, from which three arrow-like rays emerged, aiming upward. They were also white. She also noticed that protruding from one slender shoulder was a long, soft tail-like growth that looked to be made out of silky, fine fur in black, mixed liberally with mahogany and white. She also realized that it was a living, easily controlled part of her body. Her hair had become even more wavy and fine and flowed well past her waist.
She felt the power glowing and pure within her, mixed with her original Miko powers, only slightly changed. She climbed easily out of the water, enthralled by how light and fluid her new body felt, and how full of joy and love her now complete soul glowed! She still felt her connection to her reincarnation, but now it was something pleasant and warm, something she would be able to use to help and communicate with the young, under confident girl. She felt warm and loving and fiercely protective of her Oneechan, and she knew that it was time to deliver her and Inuyasha into the destined love that they did not yet understand.
"I'm coming, Oneechan." She whispered. "I can feel you! Oh, I can feel you!"
She shut her eyes and let the tears of joy flow down her cheeks, revelling in the freedom from hate, from anger, from bitterness and envy. Her soul-carriers returned to her; some opalescent white, others Opaline red and a few, translucent pink. They no longer stole souls, but released them to fly to their rightful rest and final peace. They were extensions of her Youkai power now, able to strike and heal and protect; draw back stolen souls whose time had not yet arrived and release trapped souls whose time had. They were her guidance, her light in the darkness, and they would rejuvenate her and her allies when energy faltered. They swirled around her in a joyful dance of reunion and confirmation, while her hair and soft mokomoko rippled and flowed in the fresh breeze of her youki and her joy.
She did not realize what an incredible and beautiful picture she made until she heard a gasp and turned to face a tall, handsome man in leathers and pelts, whose brilliant blue eyes stared at her glowing, naked form in shell-shocked awe and dumbstruck astonishment and admiration. A slow smile spread over the Daiyoukai woman's beautiful face as she turned to face him fully.
"Oh, Inuyasha. Soon, very soon I will have yet another reason to set you free."
Okay, so maybe someone else will be getting some action too, but if you think that this is going to turn into a KikxKog fic, you'll be disappointed. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, but of course I can't tell if you don't review! Hey, drop a line, even if it's just to say "I read it."